Reflective Essay #9

Tori Beaty

INTG 323

Reflection #9

17 April 2012

X-Men: First Class

            This past weekend I watched X-Men: First Class which focuses on a younger generation of mutants and the creating of Professor Xavier’s school.  I’m not sure that I necessarily liked it better than the last X-Men movie we watched, but I definitely appreciate the different story line they used while making it.  I thought it was interesting that they focused on brand new heroes/mutants and their struggles trying to control their powers and decide whether they would take the path of “good” or “evil.”  I think the grey area that we’ve been talking about in class was very prominent when Magneto decided to break away from Professor Xavier on his own path.  Throughout the entire movie we saw Erik struggling with his power and trying to decide what to do with it.  It appeared as though he was going to use his power for good, but the temptation to use it for revenge was too great when he had the opportunity to take on his mother’s killer.  I don’t think anyone could necessarily blame Magneto for wanting to avenge his mother’s death, even though we would probably all agree that it was morally incorrect.  At the end of the final fight scene when Erik decided to go off on his own, I thought it was very interesting that Professor X encouraged Mystique to go with him because he knew that’s where she wanted to be.  It showed that Professor X did not agree with Erik’s decision to form a group of mutants to be used against humans, but he could understand why he was doing it.  After seeing Magneto’s origin story, I better understand why he turned into a villain rather than a hero.  I can see the struggles he went through and can see why he would distrust humans.  In the end, the movie made me realize that we should not simply label people as good or bad because each one has a specific origin story. Until we completely understand that origin story, it is unfair to make judgments about a person.